A bizarre sea monster that was pulled out of the New Jersey Coast has intrigued many as the photo of the odd-looking creature has made its way around the internet.
According to Grind TV, a bizarre sea monster that was fished out of the New Jersey coastal stream has gone viral as the photo of the alien-like creature was featured on Reddit. The photo has already garnered over 400,000 views since its posting and has many questioning what exactly is the creature.
New Jersey Bizarre Sea Monster Photo
The bizarre sea monster, which has been identified as a sea lamprey, was captured after being struck with a spear. While the average lamprey is usually only three feet long, the photo indicates that this may be the largest lamprey in recorded history.
Confirming that the specimen in the photo is a sea lamprey, the spokeswoman for New York’s Department of Environmental Conservation stated, “The photo doesn’t allow counting of gill openings (seven per side for sea lamprey), but based on size alone, this does appear to be a sea lamprey.”
A sea lamprey is a eel-like jaw-less and boneless parasite that act like leeches as they latch onto other fish and drain them of bodily fluids. Despite their parasitic nature, a U.S. Fish and Wildlife document on sea lampreys highlights the importance of the bizarre sea monster as it states, “Because of the economic importance and profound effects of the sea lamprey on fish communities, its life history has been studied intensely. In the Bight, sea lampreys ascend to coastal streams in Long Island, New York, the New Jersey shore, and the Hudson River.”
It is unclear at this time if the photo that features the lamprey was tampered with in any way to make the creature seem larger than its normal size. Take a look at the photo below and let us know what you think.
Bizarre Sea Monster – photo from Reddit user jlitch
Here is a full sized sea lamprey!
